Fascinating, this. As a Windows Phone 7 user, I can attest that it is every bit as good as iOS and Android - heck, in my experience, it is more polished, more consistent, smoother, and faster than either of those two. Yet, despite raving reviews and glowing user comments all over the web, Windows Phone 7 simply isn't selling. Former Windows Phone 7 general manager Charlie Kindel believes it's because neither carriers nor device makers like the control Microsoft exerts over the platform.

To break into a tech sector, you don't just have to be better. You have to bring a unique selling point that is strong enough to overcome the associated costs of switching. Apple brought a huge leap forward in usability. Android brings an openness, flexibility, broad availability, and dirt cheapness. Windows Phone 7 brings... ceramic tiles.

Microsoft marketed the hell out of MSN, and that went nowhere because it brought nothing new. Windows Phone 7 is a totally solid phone. But there isn't a reason for it. Getting over years of installed ipod cradles, android-compatible everythings, and apps written for these two platforms, is a big hurdle. Windows Phone, so far, seems like a corporate cash-in rather than a product that humanity needed to create.